Crossroads
by Wendy McCalister
Summary: ONE-SHOT: Their paths crossed one stormy night. Kil/Bo.


**Disclaimer: Both Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter belong to the Yoshihiro Togashi.**

 **Summary: ONE-SHOT: Their paths crossed one stormy night. Kil/Bo.**

 **Crossroads**

Killua turned a corner, dashing past cars, buildings and people. He cursed savagely under his breath, as footsteps, one that didn't belong to him, echoed behind him. He sped up as fast as a lightning bolt, turning right and left, and here and there. The footsteps gradually and drastically fading away, signalling that his opponent was losing sight of him. Until a little bit later, they disappeared completely, leaving only the sound of dripping drops of drain hanging in the air.

The former assassin lowered his guard, slowing down in his tracks and stopping just into a dark and deserted alleyway. He took in greedy breaths of air, heart thumping loud and fast against his chest. In. Out. In. Out. Then, as he regained his breath and composure, Killua made to stalk off from there, only to halt half way in his movements, when the sound of shuffling was echoed in the darkness. His ears perked up - it came from the corner of the alleyway.

"Who's there?" he roared loudly, but his voice drowned in the midst of the heavy rain and the bone chilling wind.

Nonetheless, he heard someone clear their throat. He paused; it sounded feminine, almost polite. A girl?

True enough, a young woman slowly came out from the shadows, her soft footsteps echoing in his ears. His body stiffened, before quickly relaxing as a lithe figure finally came into sight.

Killua was faintly aware of her soaking wet clothes, as he was more intrigued by her exotic blue hair and her wide, almost innocent amethyst eyes staring back at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you," the girl spoke curtly, and a smile slowly curved at the corners of her lips.

Blue orbs watched her, eyeing her every movement, as she sauntered closer his way. She stopped when she was close enough.

"I'm Botan," she introduced herself in a perky voice, features brightening up in a wide and friendly grin. She stared at him with wide and hopeful eyes, as if she was expecting him to do the same

He arched an eyebrow. Did she really just tell him her name? He paused. Well, no harm could be done by telling her his.

Shrugging his shoulders, Killua absent mindedly answered, "Killua. Killua Zoldyck."

"Zoldyck?" Botan echoed, tilting her head to the side as if she was trying to remember if she had heard it before. He watched her rack her brain for a few moments, until finally... "Oh yeah! That's the family full of assassins, right?" she asked in a cheerful tone, which caught him off guard.

Normal people would usually cower, or start begging for their lives, when they found out who he really was. But this girl just grinned with an air of cheerfulness radiating off of her. This caught his interest, but it was also followed by a newfound suspicion.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Suspicious. It was rare to see a girl hiding in a dark alleyway, even more so that it was a deserted one. Worse, she seemed to be casual about finding out he was apart of a family full of assassins. Was she even normal?

"I... I was.." the girl trailed off, fidgeting a little. Her eyes darted elsewhere, avoiding his scrutinizing gaze.

"You were?" he prodded, taking a few steps closer towards her. She didn't step back as he expected her to do though, and merely blinked her eyes stupidly at him. "Aren't you scared of me?" Killua went on, growing exasperated at the lack of fear he sensed from her.

Botan blinked a few more times. Once. Twice. Thrice. Then, she unexpectedly shrugged her shoulders.

"Why not?"

There was a pause, as if she was considering her answer. "Well, I have, er... friends who are rather... how do I say this... unique? Yeah, they're unique! Just like you!" her voice chirped up at the last couple of sentences.

Killua quirked an eyebrow questioningly at her. "You mean, they have powers, and have killed a few people as well?" he guessed. He figured that what she meant.

"Well... not exactly people... as they weren't really 'human'..." she murmured quietly.

That was it. He had enough. He knew and heard too much already. He held up a hand to silently order Botan to stop talking when she went up to elaborate. He was already conjuring up disturbing images in his head, and she really wasn't helping.

"Okay, so where, pray tell, are these 'friends' of yours?" he questioned after a moment of dead silence. She expelled a heavy sigh.

"To be honest, I don't really have a clue... We got separated... But, I spoke to them a while ago on my communication mirror - oh wait, I meant my phone - and they agreed to meet up at this place named Yorknew City." Botan paused as a thought occured to her. "You don't happen to know where it is, do you?"

"Yorknew?" Killua echoed, raising an eyebrow at her once more. He ignored the part where she said "communication mirror" or whatever. "Yeah, I know where it is. My friend killed someone there."

Again, the girl didn't seem the slightest bothered by his words. "Oh. Thanks. Would you mind drawing a map for me though?" She surprisingly took out a piece of paper from underneath her clothes, Killua stared with interest as she handed it to him.

"What?" He wanted to ask how she managed to pull out paper from a few pieces of clothing, but instantly closed his mouth. "Okay."

"Great!" Botan chirped, watching as he bit his thumb, drawing out blood, and proceeded to draw a map on the white paper. She waited until some time, before he finally finished.

"Here." He handed it to her. She gladly took it out of his grasp. "You owe me."

"Thank you so much, Killua-san!" she said in a high-pitch voice, obviously pleased. Killua just rolled his eyes, but the effect wore off as there was a slight pink tint coloring his cheeks.

"Your welcome," he mumbled, voice almost inaudible.

"You still didn't answer my question," he remarked simply, as he eyed her eyeing the man. Amethyst eyes turned to look at him in confusion.

"Huh?" came her stupid response.

"Why are you here?" Killua reminded her.

"Oh. That." She paused. "Uh... You might not believe this, but my friends and I are actually on a mission... but it's top secret so I can't tell you!" Killua gave her a look that literally meant 'Do I look like I care?', earning a giggle from her in return. "Anyways, so I got into some trouble with the police. And now I'm here in hiding! Pretty weird, huh?"

Killua wanted to say he'd seen weirder things (including her), but decided against it. "Oh, okay."

"But I have to go now. I mean, I don't want to keep my friends waiting. Koenma-sama would kill me..."

Although he wondered inwardly who this Koenma was, Killua didn't bother to prod further into the matter. It didn't have anything to do with him anyway.

"Sure. Bye," he spoke simply, and turned the other way around, making to go now. But the sound of police sirens reached his ears, growing closer to where they were. He stared at the damp ground, alarmed at the blinding red and blue lights he could see reflected in the puddle. Oh, shit. The cops were close.

"Is that the-" Botan's voice were cut short as Killua suddenly grabbed her by the forearms, surprising her. A startled gasp escaped her at the feel of his sharp claws digging into her skin through her clothes, and before she knew it, in one swift motion, Killua roughly pulled her to him, his cold lips crashing against her warm ones. Botan's body turned into a rigid line.

She tried to speak, but Killua wouldn't let her go, her voice muffled into the kiss. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see a police car stop exactly in front of the alleyway. A flashlight was directed their way, the couple of police officers snickering at the sight.

"Lucky him."

"Yeah. What I wouldn't give for a good make out session."

She heard them exchange a few more sentences, before finally driving off. That was when Killua finally released her, letting her body stumble back. She almost slipped, but managed to catch her feet before she could.

"What... Kiss... H-huh?" Botan mumbled incoherently. She tried to talk normally; but she couldn't even string a complete sentence in her head, much less speak.

Killua blushed hotly. Did she really have to react like that?

"D-don't be mistaken!" he tried to sound indignant, cursing at himself when he stammered instead.

"You said you were in some kind of trouble with the police, d-didn't you?" Killua went on, stuttering a little. He crossed his arms and turned his nose up in the air, he would've appeared haughty if it wasn't for the bright crimson shade on his cheeks. "So I was lending you a helping hand. I wouldn't be even the least bit attracted to a chick like you!"

Botan blinked at his sudden outburst. Apparently, her shock had somewhat died down. "Okay..." she spoke slowly, before sending the boy a smile. "I think I know what you're talking about. I've seen it on movies before."

"Good." Killua seemed to calm down a little. All of a sudden, something caught his eye. He looked up, a relieved expression crossing his face at the sight of his best friend, Gon, standing on a roof of a building and waving a hand at him.

"Killuaaaaa!" the boy called.

He waved back, breaking into a toothy grin, before turning to peer at Botan. "I've gotta go now. Catch you later, B."

Botan, having heard Gon calling for him, nodded her head. The new nickname caused her to blink though.

"Okay. Talk about good timing too, since I'm going to fly off - I mean, run off - to my friends now. See ya!" Botan spoke casually, inwardly scolding herself for saying the wrong thing again.

Killua arched an eyebrow at her. Did she just say fly? Despite his curiousity, he nodded his head and waved back when the girl waved at him in farewell.

"Bye!" he heard her call after him as he dashed towards the building where Gon stood.

Killua spared a brief glance at her, blinking when he realized that she was gone. Who was she? Or rather, what was she? Killua didn't know, but he knew one thing for certain:

She was a weird girl.

* * *

"Who was that girl?" Gon asked, as Killua walked up to him.

"Who? Botan? No clue," he replied with a shrug. Gon regarded him with a curious expression, but didn't say anything else.

"Okay. Whatever. Anyway, we need to go. The rest are waiting for us at the hotel."

"Uh-huh." Killua nodded his head in agreement, following after his best friend as he started to stroll off. The former assassin suddenly halted in his tracks, and turned to look the other way. He blinked.

"What's wrong?" Gon inquired, having noticed him stop walking.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I thought I saw something..."

"Probably just your imagination, Killua."

"Maybe..."

Gon made to stalk off again, assuming that his friend would follow him this time around. Killua did, slowly taking a few steps forward. But then, he looked behind his shoulder at the night sky. The stars stared back at him. He squinted his eyes, as if trying to catch a better sight of something, before shrugging it off. Maybe Gon was right, it was probably just him imagining things. Deciding that was the case, Killua ran up to Gon, wrapping an arm around him. Gon laughed, but he let him do his thing.

Killua could've sworn he saw someone flying on an oar.


End file.
